Merry & Seduced (19 page)

“How is Amme?” Olivia asked.

“She’s awake, but she doesn’t want to see me.”

“She’s had a shock,” Olivia said. “Give her time. The party is in two days, then there’s the wedding. Do you think they’ll cancel?”

“Not if I have anything to do with it,” Marcus said.

Olivia took a sip of her drink. “They’re aliens, Marcus.”

Marcus sucked in a deep breath, drank more. “Well, they’re not human, but you know what. It doesn’t matter a damn. I’ve never been so happy. Amme has made us into a family, and I’m not about to let that go.”

“But they’re leaving the day after the wedding.”

“Amme’s not leaving with them. I love her, and I’m not willing to let the best thing—the only woman I’ve ever loved—get away without a fight.”

Chapter Ten

“A
mme, sweetheart,” Nanu said. “Please stop crying. The water will hurt your cybertronics.” He frowned and shot her an enquiring glance. “I didn’t think cyborgs could cry.”

“I’m not meant to.”

“Amme’s body seems to have adapted and modernized itself,” Mogens said. “Not a bad thing, but certainly unexpected.”

“Are you sure Autumn is all right?” Amme asked for the third time.

Camryn wandered into the cottage bedroom where Mogens and Nanu were fixing Amme’s broken arm and leg. “Marcus rang.”

“Did you tell him I didn’t want to see him?”

“Yes,” Camryn said. “But I don’t understand why.”

“He deserves a woman who is whole, one who can give him more children, and I can’t because of my childcare designation. Only those with parent designation can produce children on Sheng. I thought I’d told you that. Marcus deserves a human woman, one who can give him children.”

“Rubbish,” Camryn said. “You love him.”

A tear rolled down Amme’s cheek. “I’m a childcare cyborg and that’s all I’ll ever be.”

“You talk a load of crap,” Camryn shot back. “You are the most caring person I know. Gweneth is a credit to you and you’re a valued member of our crew. But you deserve personal happiness, Amme. You want Marcus, and I think he wants you.”

“There,” Mogens said. “Test your arm.”

Amme lifted her arm and it functioned as normal. It didn’t look natural though with the workings showing through the jagged hole in her skin.

“Good. We’ll place some healing gel on the wound and bandage it. I think the gel will promote new skin growth. At least that’s what the healer said when I purchased it at the Intergalactic market on Shrimpton.”

“I am lucky you’re a skilled forecaster and predicted the need for the gel,” Amme said. “This is the first time I’ve ever injured myself.”

“Hopefully it won’t happen again,” Mogens said. “But make sure you pay attention to how we fix you. You never know when you’ll need to mend your own injuries.”

Camryn yawned widely. “It’s late. Do you need me for anything or can I go to sleep?”

“Go and recharge,” Nanu said. “Mogens and I are almost done with Amme’s leg. Do you think it will be all right if we go back to the guest quarters at Marcus’s place?”

Amme watched Camryn frown.

“I think so,” she said finally. “We need to know what he’s going to do, now that he knows there is something weird about us. Set the perimeter alarms to give yourself warning if strangers come around.”

“Will do,” Nanu said. “Jannike and Kaya have already placed alarms. We didn’t bother setting them tonight since we were all out. There, all done.”

“See you in the morning, Amme. And don’t worry. I’m sure everything will work out fine,” Camryn said, and with a wave, she left the room.

Mogens applied gel to the patch and dressed it with a medicated bandage. “You’ll need to recharge for the rest of the night. You can put weight on your leg in the morning. Com me if you suffer any unexplained pain.”

“Thank you,” Amme said.

“You’re welcome, child,” Mogens said.

Left alone, Amme recalled the expression on Marcus’s face secs before her system shut down. Horror had marched across his features. Shock.

No, her friends were wrong. How could everything be all right after this?

* * * * *

“W
hat are we going to do?” Camryn asked, her gaze roving over her mate’s naked body. Despite the circumstances, it was difficult not to gawk at all that gorgeousness. And her mate would soon be husband. The thought brought satisfaction and excitement. Peace.

Ry sprawled back in the bed, the sheet pooled over his groin. “Normally, I’d say we should leave, but this time is different. We want to come back to visit your family. We need to speak with Marcus and make sure he’s willing to keep our secret.”

“Olivia too,” Camryn reminded him.

“She’ll be easier. We could intimidate her, put the fear of godly terror into her. Marcus is stronger, confident. His own man. He will do what he thinks is best, no matter how we apply threats.”

“I’m sorry,” Camryn said and laid her hand on his arm.

“You have no need to apologize. We discussed the risks before we came and tried to minimize them. I promised you we’d visit your family, and I’m not sorry. These weeks have been good for all of us.”

Relief struck at the heart of Camryn, and she moved closer to kiss Ry.

“We’ll go and speak with Marcus, try to gauge his attitude and take things from there. We should go soon.”

“I wish this hadn’t happened before the party tonight. Everyone has worked so hard getting ready. Marcus will probably want to cancel,” Camryn said.

“We’ll ask, but no matter what, we’re getting married tomorrow. I want to see you in your special dress.”

“Good, because I would’ve dragged you up our makeshift garden aisle.”

“That would make an excellent wedding photo. We could frame it and place it in our cabin on the
Indy.
”

“Very funny, Cat Man.”

“I thought so. We should visit Marcus now. Nanu and I are going to the
Indy
later to do our final maintenance checks. The repairs went surprisingly well. We were even able to stock up on parts we can adapt for use on the
Indy
. The junkyard Max told us about was a treasure-trove.”

“Good. Can you take my chair and find a place for it?”

“It’s old.”

“It’s comfortable.”

“It belonged to your husband.”

“And then it belonged to me.
You
are my mate and soon, you’ll be my husband. I want the chair because it reminds me about how far I’ve come in the last year.” Camryn climbed out of bed and stretched. “I suppose we should get this done, so we know exactly where we are with Marcus. What? What’s wrong?” she asked when Ry didn’t move.

“You are beautiful, Camryn. Kidnapping you was the best thing I’ve ever done.”

She grinned and leaped onto the bed, throwing herself at him. “Maybe we have time to say a proper good morning.”

Their lips met, their hands became busy, and they didn’t surface for another hour.

* * * * *

A
mme tested her limbs and found they were working in the normal method. Apart from the bandages, she looked and felt like her usual self. The pipes in the walls banged when either Camryn or Ry turned on the shower. Such a different sensation from the sanitizers they used on the
Indy
. A shower with real water was one of the many things she’d miss when they left.

Amme climbed out of bed and realized she didn’t have any clothes. She found a baby-blue robe on the back of the door and wrapped that around her waist before she wandered from her bedroom to find the kitchen. Camryn would have coffee. Sure enough, she found beans and filters, and she soon had coffee underway.

Ry entered the kitchen first. “How are you doing?”

“Almost as good as new. I’m sorry I’ve caused trouble.”

“Not your fault.” Ry drew her into a quick hug. “You were protecting a child. Camryn said she has some clothes you can wear.”

“Thanks.”

“We’re going to see Marcus,” Ry said.

“I want to come with you.”

“I thought you never wanted to see him again,” Camryn said, appearing behind Ry.

“I’ve changed my mind. Hiding is cowardly, and I would come to regret not seeing Marcus one final time.”

Ry nodded. “We’ll wait for you to change.”

“You have time to shower if you want,” Camryn said.

“I need to check with Mogens about the bandages first. I don’t wish for water damage.”

Half an hour later, they strode out to speak to Marcus.

“I’m nervous,” Amme said, the tremor in her hand highlighting her nerves.

Ry squeezed her arm, showing her that yet again, despite being alone, she’d ended up with a supportive family. “It will be all right. I’ve commed the others. They’ll be on standby if we need them.”

Camryn strode before them and thumped on the front door.

As they waited for someone to answer, Amme’s stomach seemed to swirl—another anomaly in a string of many.

Mogens hadn’t seemed concerned but she couldn’t help but worry about the changes—the emotions and physical reactions that shouldn’t appear yet kept occurring.

The door opened and they were face-to-face with Marcus.

His haunted gaze went straight to her. “Amme.” He pushed past Ry and Camryn and hauled her into his arms before she could speak.

At first she held herself stiffly, unsure of how to react. Marcus trembled, his eyes closed as he held her. He was so big and strong and confident. That he would react in such a manner took her by surprise. Gradually, she relaxed into his embrace.

“We should go inside,” Ry said in a low voice. “We need to talk.”

Marcus pulled back, but he took her hand, as if he were afraid to lose contact. “Of course. You’re all right. I can’t believe you’re okay after your fall.”

He led the way into the kitchen, the scent of coffee fragrant and enticing. Amme pulled out three more mugs and poured coffee for them all as well as topping up Marcus’s cup.

Footsteps heralded an arrival. Olivia and Autumn.

“Amme, Amme, Amme,” Autumn cried and flew at Amme. She flung her arms around Amme’s legs and hugged her tight.

“Careful, Autumn. Don’t hurt Amme’s leg. It’s still sore after last night,” Marcus said.

Autumn frowned. “The lady pushed us down the stairs.”

“She did,” Amme said.

“Olivia said the police are growling at her now,” Autumn said.

“That’s right,” Marcus said.

“We need to talk,” Ry said. “But not in front of the child.”

Marcus nodded. “Olivia, can you—”

“No,” Camryn interrupted. “Olivia needs to hear this too. I’ll com Gweneth to keep an eye on her. Is that acceptable to you?”

There was a moment of tense silence before Marcus nodded.

Camryn openly commed Gweneth, and a few mins later, she arrived along with the rest of the crew.

Amme tensed, wondering if Marcus would take this as a silent threat. The crew ganging up against him and Olivia. Her breath caught and slowly released when Marcus walked to her side and picked up her hand. His fingers closed around hers in silent reassurance.

“Help yourself to coffee,” he said. “You might need to put on another pot.” He lifted their linked hands and placed a kiss on her knuckles. “Are you really all right?”

“I will be. I need to recharge more.”

Ry cleared his throat. “I am Ryman Coppersmith, from the planet Ibrox, but born on Viros, which is where we’re going once we leave Earth. Amme and the others are part of my crew.”

“I knew it!” Olivia said. “I knew there was something funny about these guys. What is he saying? I understand Amme easily, but some of the others don’t seem as good at English.”

“I have another translator,” Mogens said. “Do I have your permission to place it on your sister?”

“Do I already have one?” Marcus asked.

“It’s a small thing, the size of a dot. I stuck one behind your ear several weeks ago. Autumn has one too.” Amme kept a close watch on his expression for any sign of distaste or horror. It didn’t come.

“Go ahead,” he said.

“What’s happening?” Olivia demanded.

“Mogens is going to put a translator on you,” Marcus said.

“Will it hurt?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Marcus! It will not hurt,” Amme said in English.

“Bring it,” Olivia said with a cheerful grin. Her chin lifted to highlight the attitude. “How does it work?”

“It creates a pathway to the part of the brain that understands and interprets languages. You’ll be able to understand any language,” Mogens said after patting on the small patch.

“That could come in handy,” Olivia said.

“The patch is much better than the red caterpillars they shoved into my ears,” Camryn said with a shudder.

“You were a big baby-child,” Kaya said. “Anyone would have thought we intended to kill you.”

“No, you just kidnapped me instead,” Camryn said sweetly.

“You’re getting away from the point,” Ry said with a glance at Marcus. “We came to Earth so Camryn could visit her brother. She had things she needed to say to him, to explain her disappearance. We intend to leave on the second of January and we’d appreciate it if you don’t mention our existence to anyone else. We’d like to visit again in the future, and we can’t do that if our presence puts Camryn’s family in danger.”

The entire time Ry spoke, Amme watched Marcus, her heart-pump beating faster than it should, nervous tension forcing her to swallow and swallow again. She waited for him to show disgust, to shove her away but it didn’t happen.

Marcus frowned and glanced from Ry to Camryn and back. “I don’t understand. You transformed from a leopard into a person. Both of you, but Camryn is Max’s sister.”

“I’m a leopard shifter,” Ry said. “When Camryn and I became close, we mated and that changed her physiology.”

“Cool,” Olivia said.

“Quiet, Olivia,” Marcus said. “Does Max know?”

“Yes,” Camryn said.

“And Ellen?”

Camryn nodded.

“Okay.” Marcus turned to Amme. “Tell me about you.”

Amme swallowed, not enjoying becoming the center of attention.

“Amme, do you want me to tell Marcus?” Ry asked.

“No,” she croaked. “I’ll do it.” She sucked in a breath, in an effort to center herself. This was much harder than she’d anticipated. “I…” She sneaked a glance at Marcus, and her stomach started churning again. “I am from the cyborg race. Medical staff screen us as younglings and assign the roles our personality tests show will suit us. Our bodies are enhanced with technology to help us with our roles in order to make our society productive. I am a childcare cyborg.” She stopped talking, unsure of how much she should say.